The Impact of Candidates’ Negative Traits on Vote Choice in New Democracies: A Test Based on Presidential Elections in South Korea

• Published in: Journal of Asian and African studies (Leiden) Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 211 - 228
• Main Authors: Kim, HeeMin, Roh, Jungho
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-03-2019; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Authoritarianism; Candidates; Democracy; Elections; Elites; Negative campaigning; Personality traits; Presidential elections; Presidents; Scandals; Voter behavior; Voting; South Korea; candidates’ negative traits; South Korea; scandals; elections; vote choice
• ISSN: 0021-9096; 1745-2538
• DOI: 10.1177/0021909618804273

The impact of candidates’ negative traits (CNTs) on voting behavior has received significant attention in election studies in recent decades. However, scholarly efforts have focused primarily on elections in advanced Western democracies, largely overlooking the relationship between candidates’ personal traits and the electorate’s voting behaviors in the context of new democracies. In this study, we fill this gap by investigating the impact of CNTs on the electorate’s vote choices in South Korean presidential elections. Our study of CNTs in South Korea shows that CNTs have statistically significant effects on the electorate’s vote choices. Our findings are particularly relevant because many new democracies are implementing fair and free elections, and the elites under previous authoritarian regimes are running in these elections.